


Rising from the Ashes

by The_Problematic_Blender



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Grand Theft Auto Setting, Alternate Universe - Magic, Character Death, Fake AH Crew, FakeHaus, Gen, Magic, Magic-Users, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-20
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-10-08 09:19:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10383372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Problematic_Blender/pseuds/The_Problematic_Blender
Summary: In a world of magic and crime, the Fake AH Crew is the strongest in both regards. They're a strong and formidable crew that has alluded death time and time again. But after a compromised heist, secrets being revealed, and their leader needing to vanish, it's going to take more than magic to keep the crew on top.





	1. The Flames

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CampCounselorDavid](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CampCounselorDavid/gifts).



> Come love my girlfriend's AU

The air in the living room was suffocating. Geoff was sitting on the couch, still smelling of burnt flesh. Jack was to his left, looking down at her hands with something akin to guilt. Jeremy, Michael, and Trevor were sitting on the floor. Ryan was leaning against the wall, Gavin sitting next to him in a chair. Geoff’s familiar, Fireball, was resting in his lap. Caleb's tending to a bullet wound in Mica's arm, stitching the wound up while Mica tried not to swear every other second.

Geoff was dead half an hour ago. He was shot in his upper chest during a heist that was dangerously compromised. Jack took the reins then, ordering everyone to immediately leave the location of the heist and head to one of the crew's safehouses in the desert. Jack, after Caleb assured he could handle the injuries, went out to her car, pulled Geoff's body from the backseat, and set it on fire.

Gavin would have punched Jack in the jaw if Ryan didn't restrain him, the two following Jack out of the safehouse to see what she was doing. He screamed at Jack, on the verge of tears as he did, yelling at her for burning Geoff's body like it was a person Ryan grew bored of torturing. Jack snapped at Gavin, the stress of the day showing, telling him to shut his mouth for one moment and just watch.

In under a minute, Geoff was alive again. The flames that had encompassed his body never destroyed him, and they went out without warning, as if the fire was deprived of oxygen. And Geoff was alive again, depite the bullet that was in his chest moments ago.

Gavin did punch Geoff, when Geoff stood up, square in the jaw. Ryan decided it would be best if he just held onto Gavin for the time being.

Since then, there was a lot of yelling, from everyone that wasn't a Gent, before Geoff said he'd explain it all if they just shut up.

Which was were they were now.

"I'm not a fire witch." Geoff says, tone neutral. He keeps his eyes on Fireball. "I'm a time witch." It's silent, which surprises Geoff, but he continues nonetheless. "I don't know how much you all know about time witches, but I'll just talk about this assuming at least one of you has next to no information on it.

"Time witches are... demigods, in short. They're able to manipulate time to their will, leaving the rest of the world unaware. Because of it, all time witches agreed that they shouldn't reproduce, just in case a bad seed tries to fuck with history. I'm the youngest time witch alive, and I'll most likely be the the last, since time magic is completely hereditary."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Gavin asks.

"Because time magic is a dangerous thing. I don't think you guys would manipulate me, but there are people that would, people that would hold a gun to you guys to make me do what they want. The less people that know about my magic, the better."

"Who knew before us?" Michael asks.

"Jack, Steffie, and Ryan," Geoff answers. "And Adam and Bruce from Fakehaus."

"Why did Fakehaus know?"

"In case something happened to the crew." Geoff says. A few members of the crew knew that the real reason was because Geoff cared about Adam more than usual friends do.

"Okay, you haven't really explained the whole 'coming back to life' shit you just pulled." Michael points out.

Geoff sighs. "Time witches also have an elemental magic, one that's much stronger than anyone elses. To ensure preservation of the demigod, time witches can... resurrect with their magic and some outside help. Since my elemental magic is fire, I'm sort of like a human phoenix." Fireball looks up at Geoff at the mention of phoenix. "If my body is set on fire, I will come back to life. But if I'm buried or something, I won't."

"Why are we talking like this is a bad thing then?" Gavin asks. "You can come back to life."

"If someone realizes that I was lying dead one day and alive the next, they will ask questions." Geoff looks over at Jeremy. "And then you'll have a target on your back."

"Why Jeremy?" Trevor asks, worry lacing his tone.

"Because I'm a necromancer." Jeremy says. "If someone was to find out I am one, and that I could possibly be one powerful enough to fully resurrect Geoff..." Jeremy trails off, everyone else in the room understanding what he didn't say.

"When Jeremy joined the crew, I asked him to not use his magic outside the penthouse unless it was absolutely necessary." Geoff admits. "A necromancer is a huge loophole in this industry; with a necromancer, dead men can still talk, and a lot of people don't like that. There's also a lot of people that would _love_ that."

"We can handle it, Geoff." Michael says. "We're all still alive."

Geoff looks at Michael, expression unreadable. "You have died seven times now."

"What?"

"Time witches can go back and manipulate the past, and often do for rather selfish reasons. Most people do it when they accidentally drop something or they get pulled over by a cop. I do it when you guys die." Geoff looks back down at Fireball. "Gavin died fourteen times, Ryan died six, Jeremy died six, Jack died three, Mica died twice, fuck, one time we found Trevor dead in a ditch and I still don't know who did it." Geoff's voice breaks repeatedly throughout that, and they can tell he's trying not to tear up.

"So all those times you told us to bring another person along on a negotiation, or to not bring sticky bombs on a heist, those were all because you went back in time?" Jeremy asks.

"Some of them were Steffie seeing the future, but yeah." Geoff says.

The room is silent after that for a considerable amount of time. There's not much one could say.

"Is anyone surprised that Gavin died the most? Because I'm sure not." Ryan jokes, breaking the silence to try to lighten the mood. 

Gavin punches Ryan in the leg, but it's not with any real vitriol. "Sod off."

"So what now?" Jeremy asks.

"I need to leave Los Santos, lay low in a place where people won't recognize me, and hopefully this will all blow over and people will forget the details."

"What about the crew?" Mica asks.

"It will continue it's operations, just under new management." Geoff looks up and his eyes fall on Trevor.

"Not to sound rude or anything, but Treyco?" Gavin asks.

"He's a smart and capable person." Geoff said. Trevor didn't look surprised at Geoff’s words, as if they talked about it beforehand. "I think he'll be a great leader in my place."

"No pressure, though." Trevor comments.

"Oh yeah no pressure." Geoff amends quickly.


	2. Have Died

Trevor opened the door to Geoff’s office, well, his office now. He nearly jumps when he sees Geoff still there, leaning against the front of the desk that sat in the middle of the room, a bottle of alcohol in his hands.

"You shaved." Trevor comments without hesitation. The signature handlebar mustache that adorned Geoff’s face for so many years was gone. It was… weird, to say the least.

Geoff looks up from the bottle he was inspecting, eyeing Trevor critically. "Yeah, you should try it sometime. You look like an eighth grader."

Trevor frowns, releasing his grip on the doorknob. "Shouldn't you be out of the country by now?"

"My flight doesn't leave for a few hours, besides," Geoff holds up the bottle of alcohol. "couldn't leave my babies behind."

"They won't let you take a lot of alcohol on the plane.” Trevor points out.

“What, you think I’m flying on a public airplane?” Geoff asks in either a hurt or insulted tone. It’s probably both. “I thought you knew me better.”

“Well, this week has been full of surprises.” Trevor says, not intending the words to be so biting in nature.

Geoff’s face gains a somber look to it. “I really didn’t intend on something like this happening so soon. I thought that I’d have time to at least tell it all to you instead of being all vague about it.”

“Why were you vague about it?” Trevor asks.

“That’s a lot coming from you, kid.” Geoff comments before answering. “There would be less pressure on you at first, if I actually had time to properly train you. You’d think that you’d just be taking the place of me for if I died, not taking the place of someone who prevented the death of everyone in the crew. Eventually I’d tell you, and while there would be more weight on your shoulders, you’d at least have a handle on what you were doing.” Geoff explains. “I really wish I wasn’t just dropping this on you, but you’re a bright kid, I know you can figure it out.”

A silence grows between them after that, and not a comfortable one. It’s stiff and suffocating. After a while, Geoff moves like he’s about to leave, and Trevor blurts out the question that has been weighing in his mind. “How hard is it?”

“Running the crew is like trying to-”

“No,” Trevor interrupts. “I meant how hard is it, seeing them… die.”

Geoff lets out a heavy sigh, one that holds the weight of the world. “Have you ever lost someone, Trevor?”

“Not anyone I really cared about.” Trevor answers.

Geoff opens up the bottle of whiskey in his hands. “It’s… it’s heartbreaking. You just feel so sad and lost… and angry, so fucking angry. You feel like you lost a part of you. Someone you knew, someone you lived with, someone you would take a bullet for, they’re just gone.”

“Does it get easier?” Trevor asks, his voice quiet. “Seeing them die?”

“No.” Geoff answers before taking a swig of his whiskey. Trevor’s not sure if that’s the answer he wanted or not. “You should be thankful you’ll only have to see them die once.”

“Geoff, if you’re not here, people are going to start dying.” Trevor says. “I can’t prevent death, and Steffie can’t either.”

“I know, but I have to lay low, and I messed with the timeline enough.” Geoff looks down at his whiskey. “Anything else you want to ask me that will ruin the mood for the next month?”

“How’d I die?”

Geoff looks up from the bottle. “Trevor-”

“I want to know what happened, Geoff.”

“Didn’t you ever hear the phrase ‘curiosity killed the cat?’”

“Yes, ‘but satisfaction brought it back.’” Trevor replies.

Geoff lets out another sigh. “I… I don't know what happened entirely. Do you remember when Ryan got sick, like he couldn't get a sentence out without hacking up a lung?”

“Yeah?” Trevor answers, caution in his tone.

“It was around then. I sent you and Gavin out on a torture job. It was supposed to be quick, but you were gone for hours and we didn't hear anything from you two about when you were going to be back. When Michael, Jeremy, and I drove out there, Gavin was duct taped to the wall and you were gone.”

“So the gang of the guy we took found out where we were?” Trevor asks.

“No, the guy was still tied to the chair.” Geoff looks down at his whiskey again. “We couldn't figure it out, who’d take you but leave Gavin?” He pauses to take another drink. “We spent days looking for you, and for some reason, we did.” Geoff doesn’t continue, and Trevor could tell he was fighting to stay in control of his emotions.

“Why didn’t you go back in time earlier?” Trevor asks.

“Because I can’t always be there to protect you guys. Building a tolerance to torture will help you all out in the long run. Can we stop talking about this now?”

“Yeah.”

It’s silent for a few moments before Geoff starts talking. “There’s something for you, in the bottom desk drawer. Read the thing on top first, then go crazy. Jack will help you out with anything you need, along with Adam and Bruce.”

“I know.”

“Remember to eat and sleep every once in awhile, and stay hydrated.”

“Okay, dad.”

Geoff caps the whiskey and walks over to Trevor, putting a hand on his shoulder. “You’re a bright kid, you’ll run this crew well.” His words are full of sincerity.

“I’ll do my best.” Trevor affirms.

“And for the love of god, shave. You look like a predator.”

“Thanks, Geoff.” Trevor says in a flat tone.

“I mean it.” Geoff says. “Now I gotta go.”

“I thought your flight wasn’t for another few hours?” Trevor asks as Geoff opens the door.  
“Yeah, but I have to say goodbye to the others, and that’ll take at least an hour. Plus I have to go… run some errands.”

For someone with a secret relationship, Geoff didn’t hide it well. “Say hi to Fakehaus for me.”

“Fuck you too.” Geoff says, closing the office door behind him. Trevor looks to the desk, wondering what Geoff had hidden in its drawers. He crosses over to the desk, walking around it and sitting in the rather large chair that was behind it. His eyes fall on the large bottom drawer, noting the lock on it. He tries it regardless, and he’s surprised that it actually does open.

It’s a drawer for files, Trevor realizes. There’s an envelope sitting on the very top of all the files, Trevor’s name written on it with the near illegible scribble that is Geoff’s rushed handwriting. “What did you write me that you couldn’t say out loud?” Trevor asks out-loud as he takes the envelope and tears it open. The words are still hasty scribbles, but somehow Trevor manages to read the letter.

_Trevor_

_In the file cabinet is information about everyone I collected over the years, and I do mean everyone. I don’t know why I started collecting this information, it just felt like something I should do._

_To be a good leader, you need to understand the people you’re leading. You need to understand their nature, their motivations, how they work and who they work well with. I have no doubt that you understand Jeremy and B-team better than I do, and I have no doubt that you know everyone well, but you’re relatively new compared to the core team, let alone new with working with them. Use these files to learn more about them._

_Or don’t. You’re in charge now._

_There might be information from things that never happened in this timeline due to me altering it, so please don't bring up the information from the files to the guys. As far as they are aware, these files don't exist, and it should stay that way. I don't want them worrying about what could have been._

_Geoff_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may have been a little passive aggressive on it but come on.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> _Can you blame me?_


	3. Trevor's File - Part 1

**Zed is a gun for hire, and an odd one at that. He dresses in all black and avoids answering direct questions, instead opting for saying something that felt like an answer, but invariably, it was just filler words that held no weight. I wouldn't have hired him if it wasn't under the circumstances of the Staple Heist.**

**I never had a chance to get an answer out of him regarding his magic before the heist, and while it wasn't entirely necessary, I like to know what I am dealing with.**

**I did find out during the heist, however. At least what he could do. And he fucking saved our lives.**

* * *

The police were swarming below the helicopter, and there were multiple police copters hovering too close for anyone's comfort. Ryan, Michael, Gavin, and Zed were busy fending off police from the two sides of the helicopter while Jeremy was buckled into a seat and clinging to the safety bar next to the seat. Jack was piloting, Geoff sitting in the passenger seat.

"How many people are cops in this fucking city?" Ryan yells over the noise of helicopter blades and gunfire.

"Too fucking many!" Michael replies as he reloads. "I'm running low on ammo, guys!"

"I'm out." Zed's flat tone is almost drowned out by the noise.

"We're almost at the rendezvous point!" Geoff hollers back. "We just need to-"

A rather loud beeping noise cuts Geoff off. "Fuck, the engine's stalling!" Jack yells. "This baby's going down, we're gonna need to jump!"

"I am _not jumping!"_ Jeremy's voice is full of fear.

"You will if you want to live!" Geoff says, knowing full well that there was no way to coax Jeremy from that seat until the helicopter has landed.

"I'll take my chances!" Geoff sighs at Jeremy’s reply, mentally preparing to go back and time. Maybe there was an alarm Matt missed, or maybe-

"I can slow the helicopter." Geoff nearly jumps at Zed's voice, turning to him.

"What?"

"I said, I can slow the helicopter!" Zed repeats. "Point this thing somewhere softer than mountain, and I'll do the rest!"

"How can-"

"I'll explain later!" Zed cuts off as the helicopter starts to tilt. Gavin lets out a distressed sound as he grabs the safety railing next to the helicopter door to prevent being thrown out of the helicopter.

"Alright then, do it!" Geoff yells. He watches Jack point the helicopter towards the beach the best she can before looking back to the others. Michael and Gavin managed their way to the seats, buckling themselves in next to Jeremy. The fourth seat is empty, however, Ryan opting to stand and hold on to a safety railing next to the door instead. Zed manages to make his way to the middle of the helicopter without falling, planting his feet firmly into the floor and clasping his hands together.

Geoff watches as Zed's hands slowly pull apart, revealing a translucent gray orb of magic, energy swirling in the shape of a sphere at such a dangerous speed, it emits a low whirring sound. Once the orb is at the size of a basketball, it brightens, and the entire helicopter and everyone on board gains this ripple effect that's the same color as the orb.

The helicopter slows its descent down to the ground.

“Holy shit.” Michael remarks.

Geoff watches Zed in... shock, surprise, awe maybe. He managed to slow down something that weighed thousands of pounds, that's an incredible feat, no matter what magic he had.

Towards the end of the fall, the orb flickers in and out of existence as Zed struggled to keep it going for long enough. The helicopter sped towards the ground and the landing was by no means smooth, but it wasn't hurdling to the ground at terminal velocity, and Geoff calls that a win enough.

Everyone's shaken up from the impact to the point where they don't notice the magic fall away from Zed's hands and Zed lose consciousness until he hits the floor with a _thunk._

"Everyone... else okay?" Jack asks as she unbuckles herself from the seat.

"Yeah." Gavin answers for everyone else.

"Just a little banged up." Michael added.

"We need to get out of the open," Ryan says. "there's no way that they're just going to give up now that the copter's grounded, especially if they noticed it slow down."

“Well let’s hurry then. Ryan, can you carry Zed?”

“Yeah.” Ryan says, passing his gun to Jeremy.

“Look who didn’t jump and lived.” Jeremy says. “Me. Suck it.”

“What were the chances that the gun for hire could have saved your ass like that?” Geoff asks.

“Doesn’t matter. I lived and I’ll say it again, suck it.”

Geoff rolls his eyes.

* * *

**Note to self: add Zed to payroll.**

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a kudo and comment down below, they're my only source of payment for writing!
> 
> I think there will be more because I set it up so well to be one so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ stay tuned.


End file.
